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Whenever you are looking to purchase a new home, in Sean La Rue Home Loans we recommend you to have a home inspection which will take charge of evaluating the place before the loan process finalises. Its goal is to evaluate the home from a structural and safety standpoint, as well as to ensure you’re buying a hazard-free, up-to-code property that’s a good investment of your dollars.

Although home inspections are not required, you may consider doing one depending on different facts. Let’s go over the steps that we’d need to take during the home inspection process:

Step 1: Include A Home Inspection Contingency In Your Contract

First, make sure a home inspection contingency is included in your sales contract, which gives you a specified time period in which the inspections needs to be done.

Step 2: Understand How Your Home Inspection Contingency Works

During your contingency period you’re supposed to have enough time to do the following tasks:

Find a good inspector

Set up your appointment

Receive your inspection report

Get any follow-up or additional inspections

Decide what your next moves will be

It normally takes from one to two weeks once the sales contract is signed.

Step 3: Hire A Good Home Inspector

This is a very important part of this whole process, as the inspector that you end up choosing should have all certifications, training… It’s key that he/she has great experience working in the area you’re buying in, as they will be aware of any problems going on in the surroundings at the moment of the inspection.

Step 4: Read Your Home Inspection Report

Make sure to check that the home inspection report has a section for each room or area of the house, as well as a note about anything that needs repairs, is damaged or isn’t functional.

Generally, you’ll see the following terms for any issues they spot:

• Material defect: A big issue that has the potential of affecting the home’s safety and its value.

• Major defect: A system or component that is not working, not functional and needs replacement or repair.

• Minor defect: A small issue that can be easily fixed

• Cosmetic defect: A small flaw that doesn’t impact safety or functionality.

Step 6: Get Additional Inspections

Just a few of the additional inspections you may want to consider include:

• Asbestos inspections.

• Pest inspections.

• Radon inspections.

• Termite or wood-destroying insect (WDI) inspections.

• Mold/mildew inspections.

• Lead inspections.

• Sewer or drainage inspections.

• Structural inspections.

• Chimney inspections.

• Geological inspections.

Step 8: Make Your Decision

Once the inspection reports have been done and you’ve checked everything is right, you’ll need to decide whether you go through with the deal, renegotiate it or go back to the drawing board.

Step 9: Confirm All Repairs Have Been Completed

If you choose to have the seller make repairs to the home, you’ll need to make sure these are completed the way you like. Have your agent schedule a walk-through of the home once the repairs are made, so you can check in on the work and keep your closing on track.

In the event you had the seller make major repairs to the foundation, roof or other important features in the house, you might want to have your inspector come back out for what’s called a “reinspection.” These allow the original inspector to come back out and verify that issues have been properly resolved.

Step 10: Close On Your Home

Finally, you can proceed to close. As long as everything goes right with your lender, you should be able to sign your paperwork and get those keys for your new home!

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.

A VA loan is a great mortgage loan available through a program established by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. VA loans assist service members, veterans, and eligible surviving spouses to become homeowners.

Benefits of VA Loans

There is no down payment except when it’s required by the lender, or if the purchase price is above the established property value.

There is no private mortgage insurance premium requirement.

Closing costs are limited and may be paid by the seller.

The lender may not charge a prepayment penalty.

Assistance is available from the VA to help borrowers avoid default.

Many states offer additional benefits to veterans such as property tax reductions.

Types of VA and FHA Loans

VA loans, FHA loans and other loans insured by departments of the United States government are secured through the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA).

The VA offers several types of mortgage loans to help veterans and their families.

VA home purchase loans help veterans to purchase a home at a competitive interest rate. Often these purchase loans do not require a down payment or private mortgage insurance.

Cash out refinance loans allow veteran mortgage holders to borrow against home equity to pay off debt, fund school, or make home improvements. This refinancing option offers a new mortgage for a larger amount than the existing note and converts home equity into cash.

The Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) makes it easier for borrowers to get lower interest rates by refinancing an existing VA loan. This a VA-loan-to-VA-loan process, which allows homeowners to refinance a fixed loan at a lower interest rate or to convert an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) into a fixed rate mortgage.

The Native American Direct Loan Program helps eligible Native American veterans finance the purchase, construction, or improvement of homes on federal trust land. Reduction in interest rates also come with these loans.

Adapted Housing Grants help Veterans with a permanent and total service-connected disability purchase or build an adapted home or to modify an existing home for their disability.

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.

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The CalHFA FHA program is an FHA-insured loan featuring a CalHFA fi xed interest rate mortgage. This is a 30 year mortgage and can be combined with either the MyHome Assistance Program (MyHome) or School Teacher and Employee Assistance Program (School Program).

What are the Borrower Requirements?

Each borrower must be either a citizen or other National of the United States, or a “Quali ed Alien” as de ned at 8 U.S.C § 1641. It will be a requirement as well to meet the credit, income and loan requirements detailed in this program handbook, as well as CalHFA’s Lender Manual, Fannie Mae, the CalHFA-approved lender, the mortgage insurer and CalHFA’s master servicer’s requirements. And there are other important requirements to mention:

You need to be an eligible homebuyer(This program is available for both rst-time and non- rst-time homebuyers.)

Face-to-Face Homebuyer Education through NeighborWorks America or through one of the HUD approved Housing Counseling Agencies.

(…)

If you want to know more about other specific requirements, feel free to reach me out and I’ll answer any of your questions.

Owner Occupancy

When it comes to occupancy, we need to know that all borrowers must have their property as their primary residence within sixty days of closing at least. Also, non-occupant co-borrowers or co-signers will be allowed.

What are the Property Requirements?

Here are some of the most important requirements to take into account in the CAHLFA Program:

Sales price of the home cannot exceed CalHFA’s sales price limits established for the county in which the property is located

Property must be a single-family, one-unit residence, including FHA- approved condominium/PUDs. It

is the responsibility of the lender and not the master servicer to meet these guidelines.

The maximum loan amount (excluding UFMIP) cannot exceed FHA loan limits for the county in which the property is located.

FHA High Balance Loan Limits

All loans with a base loan amount exceeding $484,350 will be subject to an additional fee.

What are the Income Requirements’

Lenders are required to calculate income to qualify borrower(s) for loan approval using FHA guidelines. CalHFA will use the lender’s credit qualifying income to determine if the loan exceeds the maximum program income limit. Income not used by the lender for credit qualifying will not be used by CalHFA.

Qualifying Ratios

The maximum total Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio cannot exceed 45.00% for automated underwriting or 43.00% for manual under- writing. A MCC may not be used for credit qualifying purposes.

The minimum credit score required in the CAHLFA Program is 640. If someone does not have a credit score, that person will still be eligible as long as there’s another occupant that meets the minimum requirements to apply.

Mandatory Home Warranty Insurance Coverage

CalHFA requires that all rst-time homebuyers get a one-year home warranty protection policy. However, non-rst-time homebuyers will not have to meet this requirement. This insurance will have to cover the following:

› Water Heater(s)

› Air Conditioning

› Heating

› Oven/Stove/Range

Loan Submission Process

A lender makes reservations through CalHFA’s Mortgage Access System (MAS). Refer to the Loan Submission Checklist for minimum documentation requirements.

CalHFA FHA loan submission packages are to be sent electronically through MAS.

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.

Are you waiting for a tax refund to pay off your loan? Well, you’re not alone and there’s a solution for every case always. You’ll be able to get a loan against your tax refund, when tax companies partner with banks that will lend you the money.

If you choose the right tax preparation service, you’ll be able to pay off your loan once you receive your tax refund that goes to your bank directly. This is a very practical solution if you need the money right away instead of waiting for your tax refund to arrive.

A tax advance refund is a free short-term loan that allows you to get your refund amount sooner. The loan amount offered is based on your expected tax return refund. Usually, you will have to have your taxes filed by the same tax preparation company ahead of their advance refund deadline.

When do we receive our tax refund?

Tax advance can be given the same day or within 24 hours once you’ve applied depending on your case and which company is working for you.

Some tax returns may take longer to review and be sent out later than three weeks.

How Do I Qualify for a Tax Advance Refund?

If you expect to receive a refund from the IRS then you are eligible to apply. Depending on your expected tax refund amount, there may be a minimum loan amount that you can borrow.

How much does a Tax Refund service cost?

Many tax preparation services will offer a tax advance refund or tax loan with no interest or fees, but they will charge you for preparation fees to file your taxes or process the loan. Those costs can take a cut out of your expected tax refund amount.

Something to take into account is that the IRS offers for free to file your taxes if your income is below $66,000.

Will a Tax Advance Refund Loan Hurt My Credit Score?

It depends on how the bank providing the loan qualifies you during the application process. If there is a hard inquiry made into your credit report then yes, your credit score will be impacted. If your bank just reviews, or only makes a soft-inquiry into your credit report, then your credit will not be affected by it.

Also,the IRS could reduce your refund if you have any of the following:

Overdue federal tax debts

Past-due child support

Federal agency non-tax debts

State income tax debt

State unemployment debt

Student loan debt

Small Business Administration (SBA) loan debt

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan repayments

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.

If you’re interested in investing in Real Estate or you are already doing it, I’m sure one of the things that you are least looking forward to whenever you’re going to acquire a new property, is to go through all the documentation in order to get a loan.

In this new episode of Monday Mortgage Madness, I’m offering you a solution for that, to make things simpler and faster.

This is a new program designed mainly for investors, who would be in the position to start with a 20-25% of down payment.

A low/no documentation loan allows a potential borrower to apply for a mortgage while providing little or no information regarding their employment, income or assets.

What are the requirements?

Mainly, proof of assets. You basically put down the money, with no need of doing a rental survey, no income verification needed. This is a great program to start investing quickly into properties and a great alternative to Private Money Loans.

These private money loans are backed by the value of the property and since the property itself is used as the only protection against default by the borrower, they have usually lower loan-to-value (LTV) ratios than traditional loans.

We need to keep in mind that private money loans are not made by banks, but by individuals who are probably aiming to make some business. Who is their target? People who are looking for short term financing and borrowers with poor credit but great equity in their property.

However, this new program has more advantages as you won’t need to spend any money to earn points and we can seal the deal very quickly, where we’ll have to do an appraisal but with very little paperwork.

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.

Many think that just because they are self-employed, they can’t apply for a mortgage, and today in Sean La Rue Home Loans we are going to explain why that’s very far from true.

One of the main questions is: How long must you be self-employed to get a mortgage?

You may not have to show a 24-month self-employment history to get a mortgage. For instance, Fannie Mae says that you may qualify with 12 months of self-employment if you have previous experience in that field, and your income is at least as much as you earned in that field before becoming self-employed.

Mortgages for self-employed borrowers

Let’s go over the usual requirements

Proving business income

Self-employed borrowers no longer need to prove access to the business income.

The applicant, however, may still need to show that the business earns enough to support income withdrawals.

One year of tax returns

Self-employed borrowers may qualify with just one year of tax returns. Those returns must show at least 12 months of self-employment income.

The debt-to-income ratio will also have to meet the lender’s guidelines.

Self-employed “side” income

Borrowers qualifying for a mortgage using the income of their “regular” job don’t have to prove what they make on the side from their business. This side income could be

Self-employed co-borrowers

If you decide to apply for a loan with your own income, and your co-borrower is self-employed, lenders can ignore that business in underwriting.

Income inconsistency

If your income is consistent you’ll be in a safe area. However, if it suffers ups and downs, you won’t be able to use it to apply for a loan.

Make sure to explain properly any decreases that your income has suffered along the years.

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.

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When having to value your credit report and give it a score, lenders review your credit history to determine how likely you are to repay your loan on time.

Here are some key factors that influence your credit score:

Payment history

Age of credit

How much current unpaid debt you have

Your credit utilization ratio

Your mix of credit accounts

How much new credit you’ve applied for

Your payment history and credit utilization ratio have a greater impact on your scores than the age of your credit accounts. So if your case is that you’ve missed some payments for instance, that will affect your credit score despite the length of your credit history.

However, If you are responsible when it comes to your spending and consistently pay on time everything and have a low credit utilization ratio, you’ll b on the right path for success and getting approved by lenders.

How do I get a good credit score and how long does it take?

Usually you will need to have at least one account open that has been reporting to the credit bureaus for six months to have enough information to generate a credit score.

You can continue to build your credit history by paying your bills on time and establishing a mix of credit accounts that includes installment loans (like a student loan or mortgage) and revolving lines of credit like a credit card or home equity lines of credit.

However, It depends on every case and it can vary from one person to another depending on multiple factors.

So that’s all for today, hope you found this article useful so far and don’t hesitate in reaching me out if you have any questions or need a consultation.